


UnderCrossing

by Phemon13



Category: Undertale (Video Game), どうぶつの森 | Animal Crossing Series
Genre: Gen, Other, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-09 11:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5538179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phemon13/pseuds/Phemon13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Undertale/Animal Crossing AU! Journey through the life of Frisk, the new mayor of a sleepy countryside town! Meet old faces and new ones! (basing of course on who you know!) Adventure! Romance (Friskriel)! Drama!... Umm... spider cakes? (Reviews are Appreciated!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A "New Home"

2:00 pm, River Person’s Cab

“It’s a pretty rainy day, ain’t it?” the cab driver idly chats to the lone passenger, who is clad in a blue and purple-striped sweater and blue jeans

“mmhmm” the passenger replies, staring out the window, watching the wet landscape zoom by

“Hehe, not much of a talker are ya?” the driver continues, not minding being the only conversationalist in the cab “So, you got a name?”

“… Frisk.” the passenger finally tells their name, staring at the rearview mirror (and in turn, the driver) before turning back towards the window

“Frisk eh? That’s an… interesting name.” the cab driver contemplates the name in their mind before asking “I don’t mean t’ be rude, but are you a boy or a girl? You can never tell with names…”

“…” Frisk just stares at the rearview mirror, not wanting to answer the driver

“Ah, yer one of ‘em people who don’t care fer names such as ‘girl’ or ‘boy’, aren’tcha? No worries, pal, I’m one in th’ same. I don’t give a damn what people call me!” The cab driver chuckles to themselves, before turning back to the passenger “Where did ya say we were going? I can never remember these rural town names.”

“Hmm. I have the name around here somewhere” Frisk digs around in their backpack before finding the town map they were given “Hmmm…. ‘New Home’? What a weird name…”

“New Home? Wow that’s a strange one. Must’ve been what the founding mayor called it. Speaking of, who’s the new mayor there?.. Eh, I can’t remember” The cab driver trails off, leaving a comfortable silence 

…

“So,” The driver starts again “Any reason you’re moving to this place? I mean, it’s not the center of attention or anything. Plus, it’s a weird time to be moving anywhere these days”

“Eh” Frisk shrugs their shoulders “Guess I just needed a change of scenery. It’s my first time living on my own too, so I’m pretty nervous” Frisk confesses, adding a sheepish grin

“Izzat so? You look like an independent person… Oop, entering a tunnel, better turn the lights on”

“Thanks for the compliment. My surrogate mother recommended this town to me. Said the mayor used to be one of her… ‘aquaintances’, whatever that means. Don’t bother asking, she won’t tell me either”

“Surrogate? Did something happen to yer- Well, I shouldn’t press, I know people don’t like me budging into their personal lives. I believe after the end of this tunnel, we’ll be seein’ New Home shortly.” The cab driver comments as they exit the tunnel “Huh, looks like there’s not a cloud in th’ sky ‘round here. Meh, weirder things have happened”

“Well that’s nice. I didn’t bring an umbrella anyways.”

“Alright, we’re coming up on New Home now… Say… Are you expectin’ a welcome party when you arrive?” The cab driver asks

“No? Well at least it’ll be easier to know everyone when I meet them all at once” Frisk comments as they spy a neatly dressed goat-boy addressing the rest of the crowd “Well, here’s my stop, thanks for the ride” Frisk compliments as they hand the cab fare to the driver

“Thanks buddy, good luck out there. Also, a little phrase I like to tell my passengers: ‘Beware of the man who speaks in hands’”

“What? What does that mean?” Frisk asks, bewildered and slightly off-put by the cab driver’s ‘words of wisdom’

“Hehehe… I think some things are better left unknown…” the cab driver warns ominously before closing the cab door and speeding off

“Strange. Well, here’s my ‘New Home’. Let’s get used to it…” Frisk says to themselves, heading towards the crowd of people who are supposedly welcoming them


	2. Unexpected Introductions

“talking”  _“Thoughts”_

“Ready everyone? They’re coming closer! In 3, 2, 1…” the goat-boy conducts the rest of the crowd, eyeing Frisk with every step they make towards them

“WELCOME. MAYOR FRISK!” The entire crowd screams in unison, accompanying streamers and party poppers

To say that Frisk was surprised would be a MASSIVE understatement “I- e- umm- Excuse me, did you guys say Mayor?” Frisk attempts to clarify, making sure they heard the crowd right

 “Yes, of course we did, Mayor Frisk!” The goat-boy answers walking up to Frisk, a clipboard in his hand as well as a bouquet of flowers, which he promptly hands into Frisk’s confused hands “We’ve been waiting for you for the past hour! We hope you will do wonders to New Home! Now come!” the goat-boy peppily exclaims as he grabs Frisk’s hand “We need to show you your new workplace! To the town hall!” He continues as he walks towards the Town Hall with a bewildered Frisk in tow, not noticing the recipient’s distress

As the mystery goat-boy simultaneously pulls Frisk towards the Town Hall and witters on about something random, Frisk takes in their surroundings _“wilting flowers, dead grass, garbage everywhere, whoever took care of this place sure didn’t do a good job!”_

*At Town Hall*

“… And this is your desk and chair! If you sit down in this I will assist you as quick as I can! Are there any questions?” the goat-boy queries, tilting his head to the side

“Yeah, I do have a question…” Frisk begins, but stops as they don’t even know the goat-boy’s name

“…?” the goat boy waits, puzzled as to why the mayor hasn’t asked the question yet.

“Well, first off: name?” Frisk asks, still kind of overwhelmed by the whole introduction

“Name?…” the goat-boy pauses, while you can almost see the gears whirring about in his head “OH! I haven’t even introduced myself, I knew I forgot something!” the goat-boy places one fist onto the other palm before extending out his right hand towards Frisk “My name is Asriel Dreemurr! Resident secretary to the Mayor, which is you!” he finishes, showing off a toothy smile

“Frisk, charmed.” Frisk reciprocates, giving the goat-boy a firm handshake. “Now, Asriel, I hate to ask, but I need to make sure I’m not going crazy… You said I was the ‘Mayor’?” Frisk again attempts to clarify, using air quotes

“Yes of course!” Asriel pipes up, going through the stack of papers he’s been holding the whole time “All the documentation checks out and even references you by name! The Mayor’s duties is to keep the townspeople happy, manage the projects, and confirm or deny requests from the villagers! There’s a bunch of technical stuff regarding bureaucracies and such, but I’ve taken care of the matter! You have nothing to worry, Mayor Frisk!”

“May I see the documents?” Frisk asks, wanting to see if this is for real

“Of course, just let me get them out an- Oops!” Asriel attempts to rummage through the stack of papers before dropping them all on the floor, scattering loose leaves everywhere “Aw great, look what I’ve done!” Asriel exclaims as he hurries to recollect the fallen papers, not noticing that Frisk has also knelt down and helped him

“Here” Frisk exclaims, after collecting the paper around them and handing it to Asriel, who had finished getting the papers around him

“Ah! Th-thanks!” Asriel stutters, realizing he must look like a klutz in front of his new boss. He then looks over the document on the top and says “Actually, you keep that one! It’s the document I was looking for!” as he barks a laugh

“Ah, how convenient” Frisk mutters as they scan the document, checking for any signs of fraudulence, surprisingly finding little to none  _“Birth date, previous address, full name, they’ve got everything here”_ Then they noticed a familiar signature under ‘Guardian’ _“Should’ve known she’d be in on this”_  Frisk darkly thinks as they shove a hand into their pocket and pulls out their cell phone, speed dialing the first (and, well, ONLY) number they have saved. “I’m just calling someone Asriel, I won’t be a minute” Frisk states as they leave the room, wanting privacy

“Hello, Toriel speaking!” The recipient on the other side of the line pipes up

“Hi, ‘Mom’.” Frisk states in the type of tone that demands **answers**


	3. Answers, and Something More...

“Ah, Frisk, my child! How are you?” Toriel asks nonchalantly, placing “101 amazing facts about Snails” on the side table

“I’m quite fine, Mom, and you?” Frisk continues the conversation, their patience thinning

“I’m wonderful, sweetie! I’m actually reading a book about snails right now! Did you know that snails go wonderfully well in a pi-” Toriel begins to share another amazing snail fact but gets cut off by-

“I think we both know why I’m calling Mom.” Frisk says in a VERY serious tone

“Oh… So I take it you arrived in New Home?” Toriel asks, noticing the serious tone their surrogate child has adopted

“Yes I have Mother” Frisk continues, waiting for their ‘makeshift mom’ to just confess why she dumped all of ‘this’ on them

“Oh boy, I was planning on calling you tonight to explain…”

“What? Explain why this whole town has accepted me as their mayor? And they just so happen to have official documents stating that?” Frisk asks, planning the chew their mother out until they get ALL the answers (what? Would _you_  be happy if someone made you a mayor without your prior knowledge nor permission?)

“My child, both you and I know how much you love helping the community of which you live in right? And you also have noticed how badly the town has gotten since Asg- I mean, the ‘former mayor’  retired, right? And didn’t _you_  say that you’ve always wanted a job in the government?” (A/N it seems logical, right? Canonically Frisk became an ambassador)

“I mean that’s true…”

“So what’s the problem, my child? I wanted you to have a good life there”

“No, Mom, I appreciate what you’ve done for me, really I do. Mayor is a perfect job to get for me. It’s just…”

“What, dear?”

“Why didn’t you tell me? You know I hate being lied to…” Frisk confesses, being a very truthful person and shedding the veil of anger they had for their surrogate mother

“Well…”

“Yes?”

“You know how I sometimes have these ‘spur-of-the-moment’ decisions?”

“Yes?” Frisk answers, remembering quite a few times of such incidents  _“Who the heck makes cinnamon-butterscotch pies anyways?”_

“Well after you left to New Home I got a call from a friend that lives there saying that the town had been mayor-less for over a month and it was getting out of control. They also said that they were accepting a new mayor on the spot…”

“So you took the initiative and signed me up?” Frisk asks, seeing the logical reasoning behind Toriel’s decision

“Yes! You had all the qualifications and all it needed was a guardian’s signature”

“I noticed that” Frisk commented as they took another look at the document they had in their hand, noticing that all the information was in her handwriting as well

“So I take it your not mad at me?” Toriel asks, breathing a sigh of relief

“No, not really. Just wish my dream job wasn’t picked without my permission” Frisk jokes, feeling they might as well play the cards they’re dealt

“Well that’s wonderful, darling. I do hope you do wonders to that town!” Toriel exclaims, glad she has dodged a metaphorical landmine

“Me too Mom, lord knows it needs it” Frisk states as they stare out the window, noticing a fisher with a mound of tin cans beside them _“Is that a **tire** in the pile?”_

“That’s great honey. *bing!* Oh, looks like my pie is done! I’ll talk to you later honey!”

“Talk with you later Mom! Looking forward to you coming on Mother’s Day!”

“Honey, that’s 3 months down the line! And looking forward to seeing you too! Bye now!’ Toriel hangs up, glad she has gotten through that ordeal unscathed

“Bye Mom! Love you!” Frisk ends and puts away their phone.  _“Still pissed about her not telling me. But who complains about getting a dream job?”_

“Mayor Frisk? Is everything all right?” Asriel peers around the corner, wondering why the mayor is taking so long

“Yes Asriel, everything is fine, I was just sorting something out” Frisk explains, being careful not to worry the poor secretary “Oh, and by the way” they say as they approach Asriel  “I look forward to working with you.” they say, stretching out a hand

Now, to say Asriel literally lit up so bright he could work as a nightlight would be wrong. So Frisk can definitely say Asriel lit up with their expression quite brightly “I-I-I I look forward to working with you too!” Asriel expresses, grabbing Frisk’s hand with both hands and shaking it quite forcibly “Oh, but… I actually have some paperwork to sort through right now, so before we start with anything official, how about you say ‘hi’ to the townsfolk? I’ll probably be done by the time you finish talking to everyone!” He exclaims as he hurries back to his workplace, this time remembering to not drop any important documents

“Okay, will do! And Asriel?”

“Yes, Mayor Frisk?”

“You can just call me ‘Frisk’. I’ve always hated formalities”

“Re-really?” Asriel visibly blushes, turning his face completely red “We-well, if that’s what you wish, May- I mean Frisk!”

“Alright, see you later!” Frisk calls as they leave town hall, Asriel’s embarassed face still in their mind  _“Wow, he’s a cute one. He blushes so easy! And so hardworking too!”_ they think, before focusing even more on Asriel’s face.  _“I- eh-…. Uh-oh. this is going to make things awkward…”_


	4. Meeting the Neighbours

“Ah! Hello Mayor!” A weird looking monster with no arms greets as they walk up to Frisk

 _“I am never going to get used to being called that…”_ Frisk thinks before greeting the monster back “Hey there! It’s fine, you guys can just call me Frisk.”

“Oh! Alrighty Frisk! I sure hope you change New Home up for the better! These weeds have been getting out of control! I mean, I’ve been trying to help, but…” the monster trails off as they look at the ground

“… No offense, but isn’t it hard getting around without arms?” Frisk asks, trying not to sound too offensive. Thankfully, the kid isn’t too offended. In fact, he shrugs it off like it was nothing

“Oh, this? I’ve lived without arms for all of my life! I always manage to scrape by somehow!” the monster kid beams, impressing Frisk with the amount of determination practically emanating from him. “Oh! I just realized! I’ve got an errand to do! I’ll see you later Ma- I mean Frisk!” the monster kid calls before falling flat on his face, then slowly gets up and runs off

“Interesting kid. I didn’t even get his name” Frisk says to themselves before heading off to greet the other villagers

A couple introductions later, including a pair of chatty teenagers named Bratty and Catty, who have a habit of repeating what the other said a lot (so their conversation was basically twice as long…) Frisk decides to check out the local trade shop (named Bone Bros… are the owner’s dogs?)

*dingaling*”Hold on, I’ll be right with you!” A chipper voice calls to Frisk as they enter the store

 _“Interesting store. Seems there’s just about everything for sale here… Hot dogs, cowboy hats… ‘dog residue’?! What the hell is that?”_ Frisk wonders as they scan the shop, eager to greet the owner, who is a large… _skeleton?_

“Hi there, how may I- OH MY GOODNESS! You’re the new mayor-human that arrived today! I’ve always wanted a human to come to this town! And now I’m finally getting it! A-hem!” The tall skeleton clears his throat as he thrusts his arms on his hips and declares “I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! SPAGHETTI EXTRAORDINAIRE AND RESIDENT CO-OWNER OF “BONE BROS.”, LOCAL PAWN SHOP OF NEW HOME!” in a booming voice, standing quite proudly

“Ooookay, My name’s Frisk, but you can drop the ‘Mayor’ title, there’s no need for formalities here” Frisk cautiously greets back, making sure their ear drums still work after Papyrus’ speech “Papyrus, you said ‘co-owner’, right? Does your family own this branch or anything?” Frisk asks, feeling they should at least meet all the owners

“Ah yes! My family does own Bone Bros! Though the only other member that helps me is my brother, Sans. Who is probably slacking off right now. he never helps with anything” Papyrus mutters to himself before looking over the new human a little bit and asking “Speaking of him, do you mind doing me a favor? I haven’t seen him at all today, so he’s probably fishing by the riverside. Could you be a doll and find him and tell him to get his BUTT back to Bone Bros? There’s a bunch of stocking I told him to do 4 days ago that he hasn’t even started yet!” he complains as another customer (probably a regular) comes in “Ah, welcome! I’ve got to attend to these customers, so thanks for doing that for me, k? He’s a skeleton-monster, just like me!” Papyrus calls as he walks towards the other customers, leaving Frisk a bit frazzled

 _“I didn’t even agree to it… Oh well, I need to meet this “Sins” guy anyway…”_ Frisk thinks to themselves before leaving the store _“… Is that person selling 20 fish and 10 apples to Papyrus? Well I guess they’ll buy anything here…”_

Frisk walks around the town, picking up weeds along the way, looking for the illustrious brother of Papyrus _“Was he the guy that I saw was fishing a while ago? Hmmm… Ah! There he is! And he hasn’t budged an inch… He’s sleeping too…”_ Frisk looks at the sleeping skeleton before poking him, causing him to stir…

“Hggg- Hmm?” the skeleton looks up at Frisk “Ah, you’re the new mayor everyone been talking about. The name’s Sans. Sans the skeleton” He introduces himself as he gets up and sticks a hand in his hoodie pocket “I have something for you, by the way” He says as he hands Frisk an ice cube, which Frisk pulls back reflexively from the cold “Hehe, **ice** to meet you” he says with a wink

 _“Oh, so he’s one of those funny guys”_ Frisk thinks, wiping the water off onto their sweater “Frisk. Charmed, I’m sure” Frisk answers back

“ **Frisk** eh? Care to pat me down?” Sans smiles as he turns around, spreading his legs and raising his arms

“Haha, like I haven’t heard that one before” Frisk admits dryly _“He reminds me of someone. Someone who also likes puns…”_ Frisk thinks, envisioning their surrogate mother _“I’m sure her and Sans get along perfectly…”_ (A/N _I ship them platonically! JUST FRIENDS K?_ )

“Hey, I don’t mean to offend buddy, I just like to be **humerus** ” Sans states as he shrugs at a non-existent audience, beckoning a roll of the eyes from Frisk

“You have a pun for everything don’t you?”

“Well, most things. I work myself to the **bone** usually to think of them” (A/N SANS STOP)

“Okay, quit it Sans. Papyrus told me to tell you to get your butt back to Bone Bros. He says you have some stocking to do. Also, I’ll be leaving because I have to report back to Asriel soon” Frisk checks their watch, turning towards the Town Hall

“Alright buddy, don’t be a stranger” Sans calls back as he gets up and heads towards the Bone Bros

“Really, no pun?” Frisk calls back in shock, thinks a second, then yells to Sans “Hey Sans, I hope you get a ton of jokes for me the next time we meet! A SKELE- **TON**!”

Sans stops for a moment and mentally slaps his head before continuing walking _“Damn, they got me on that. Things are going to get interesting….”_


	5. Laying Foundations

As Frisk is walking back towards Town Hall, again, picking up weeds along the way, they have some time to think.  _“Okay, so let’s get these feelings in check. Am I crushing for my secretary, on the FIRST DAY? No I can’t be. He’s just adorable, has a cute voice, looks adorable in anything andissocutewhenhemessesupand AGGGH!”_ Frisk ruffles their hair, attempting to clear these invading thoughts, causing stares from the villagers they pass  _“I guess Mom was right when she was concerned that I hadn’t been attracted to anyone while I was a teenager… Guess it’s popping up now. Speaking of Mom, Asriel has a very similar fur pattern… Are goat-monsters a common species? I don’t remember seeing many in high school… Ah, we’re here. Okay, focus Frisk, deep breaths, try to act normally…”_  Frisk takes a deep breath and is about to open the door when it suddenly bursts open, showcasing the little fuzzball called their secretary, who seems very flustered about something “… Asriel?” Frisk attempts to start the conversation, trying their best to calm their beating heart

“Ohgoshohgoshohgosho- Oh! Hello Ma- I mean Frisk! Perfect timing!” Asriel lights up and addresses Frisk, stacking the papers in his hands (which he apparently grabbed them in a hurry) “I just finished my paperwork when I remembered something important! You’re not going to be living with anyone in New Home right?” Asriel queries, tilting his head to the side

_“Goddamnit, why does he have to be so **cute** with everything?”_ Frisk curses in their head, attempting to contain their composure. “No, I’m not. I just met everyone here today” Frisk explains, realizing they knew barely anything about this town prior to arriving

“Ah, that’s perfect! We actually have a layout of your prospective home and position in the town already! Would you care to take a look?” He suggests, directing out a hand

Frisk briefly looks at the hand  _“I wonder what it’d be like to hold that… looks fluffy… Must be like Mom’s… Bad thoughts, bad thoughts! He’s asking you something, answer!”_ Frisk briefly shakes their head before turning towards Asriel “I’d love to, Asriel. Lead the way?” Frisk offers, stepping out of the way for the secretary

“Of course! This way, Frisk!” Asriel pipes up as he walks towards the prospective building site, making sure Frisk is following them

“Wait… I DID hold his hand, at the start! Oh god, now I’m remembering it!~” Frisk, again, attempts to clear these wrong thoughts, not noticing Asriel has stopped, concerned on Frisk’s well-being

“-isk? Frisk? **Frisk**? Are you okay?” Asriel asks, concerned why the mayor has got their hands on their head

“What? Asriel? Of course I’m fine! Why would you ask that?” Frisk asks, attempting to mask their inner turmoil

“Well I asked you a question a couple seconds ago but you didn’t answer…” Asriel comments, as you can practically see his composure droop

_“Shoot! He thinks I’m ignoring him! Fix it Frisk!”_  “Oh, I’m sorry! I was preoccupied with something! What was it you asked me?” Frisk attempts to remedy the situation

“I asked ‘Did you have a good time meeting the villagers?’” 

“Oh! Yes, yes I did. Though there was one, well, I wouldn’t call him ‘annoying’…” Frisk answers, clearly remembering the punny skeleton

“Was it Sans?” Asriel immediately asks, seemingly already knowing the problematic villager

“Yes it was. I take it you know him?” Frisk asks, wondering how much Asriel already knows about the residents of New Home

“Haha, well there aren’t many that don’t Frisk. He’s sorta famous around here as being ‘the punny brother of the Bone Bros.’. Most like his puns so much they overlook the laziness…” Asriel comments, surprised to see Sans actually working as Asriel and Frisk pass by the back of Bone Bros.

“Huh. I don’t mind the odd pun once in a while, but one every sentence is kind of pushing it…” Frisk adds on “I’d better brush up on my puns the next time I meet him then. I wouldn’t want to lose to him.”

“Really? You’re combating Sans? Well best of luck to you. The only person to equal Sans in a pun-off would be my Mo- Oh, we’re here!” Asriel cuts himself off as they arrive at the building site “Now, the planned building is only going to be two stories with all the basic necessities, but if you ask the realtors who built it, you can expand it to include extra rooms and even a basement.” Asriel explains, making sure not to wander too close to the builders at work

“That’s nice. Though I don’t have much stuff right now…” Frisk mutters, motioning to the backpack that houses ALL they have (usual bare necessities: clothes, hygiene utensils, sleepwear…) “Speaking of living quarters…” they begin, feeling they might as well address the elephant in the room

“Hm?”

“Where am I going to be sleeping tonight? Is there a local hotel I can stay at?” Frisk asks

“Tonight…? Oh my… _we forgot to set up the campsite!_  Oh my gosh we are forgetting so many things! This is disastrous!” Asriel worries, racking their brain to find a solution

“It-it’s fine Asriel. I can figure something out…” Frisk attempts to calm Asriel down, before noticing him stop fidgeting and look at them with a uncertain spark in their eyes

“Uhmm… Frisk?” Asriel starts shakily, still not believing himself that he’s actually asking this

“Yes Asriel?”

“W-well, M-my house is just down there” he points to a modest house with a lime-green roof “A-and I just happen to have a spare guest room open…”

_“Oh god is he going to suggest what I think he is?”_ Frisk thinks, wide-eyed imagining sleeping in the house of their first crush **on the first day they met him**

“I-if you don’t mind, would you like to stay the night at m-my house?” Asriel asks, with a certain light in his eyes

_“Okay Frisk, you’ve got two options here. Either reject him and probably make him cry, or accept and prepare for the most sleepless night you’ve ever had…”_ “Well, if you’d take me, I’ll gladly accept your invitation” Frisk smiles with a business smile, trying their best to not show any nervousness

“A-ah, Great! Well let’s head there and get you settled in! I’ve got to get you towels, new bedding, toiletries…” Asriel trails off as they wander towards their house, completely forgetting Frisk who is trying to hide the blush flowing onto their face

_“Great Frisk, what have you gotten yourself into now?”_


	6. Invitations and Accommodations

“Wow, your place is a lot bigger up close” Frisk comments as they and Asriel walk towards Asriel’s house

“W-well that’s true with everything, right? Th-the mind is easy to deceive” Asriel stutters, still reeling at the fact their new boss is going to be their guest “Come in.” Asriel states as they open the front door, signalling Frisk to follow

“That _is_  true, but it’s so massive! How can you pay for all this?” Frisk asks, looking around at the modest collection of ‘minimalist series’ furniture, in what they can only assume is the living room ** _(A/N: I LOVE the furniture series’ in AC:NL so if you can’t follow the visual clues, I’m sorry)_**

“Oh, I do what every other villager does to get by” Asriel calls from around the corner, from what seems to be a linen closet branching off the main hallway “Selling fish and bugs, doing the odd favour, stuff like that. That, and being a secretary for the mayor’s a decent pay too!” he then pokes his head around the corner “Would you like white or gray towels?” he queries

“Oh, white please” Frisk answers politely, taking their sweet time to get used to their surroundings, liking Asriel’s taste in decorating “So is this the type of prospective house I’ll be getting?” Frisk asks, wondering what _their_  house is going to look like

Asriel comes out from the linen closet, a pair of fluffy white towels in his hands, which Frisk quickly takes from him “Ah, thanks. Well the basic layout is generally the same, except I have already made expansions to parts of my home; like the study” he points east to a set of double doors that leads to what Frisk can see as a mini-library “and the kitchen” he points behind him towards the west to the kitchen, which has an open countertop that overlooks the living room “but everything else you see here is the basic model. Oh, but you’ll have to supply your own furniture, of course” he finishes, flashing another toothy smile

 _“There he goes with that smile again. I swear this guy’s going to give me a heart attack”_ Frisk thinks, attempting to stop the sudden heart rate increase “Oh, I’ve got that covered. I already have the whole cabana set ready for my new house.” Frisk boasts, feeling they might as well tell Asriel what they’ve brought

“The whole cabana set! Where’d you get that from?” Asriel asks, quite interested on how Frisk got ALL of it

“My Mom. She’s quite into collecting.”

“Ah, that’s nice. She sounds a lot like my mom…” Asriel comments, entering a dreamy, trance-like state remembering his mom

For a little while, Frisk just stares at Asriel, drinking in his features; from his floppy ears to his cute little nose, there’s no doubt in Frisk’s mind: They’re in love, and pretty damn deep too  _“Yup, you’re in love Frisk. It’s good you’ve been practising your poker face **(A/N: -_-)** your whole life in preparation for this”_ Frisk mutters sarcastically to themselves before attempting to snap Asriel out of his state “Hey, Asriel” they call, shaking Asriel’s shoulder

“Mmmm, butterscotch-cinnamon pie…” Asriel slurs, before breaking out of his reverie “Hmm, Frisk? What is it?” Asriel asks, completely oblivious that he was out of it for at least 3 minutes

“You okay?” Frisk asks, showing concern

“Am I okay?” Asriel repeats the question, replaying it a couple times in his head before realizing what just happened “Oh! Yes, of course I’m okay! Sorry, I tend to get lost in thought when thinking of my Mom, she rarely visits this town”

“Oh, your mother doesn’t live in New Home?” Frisk asks, actually surprised that his mother doesn’t live here

“No, no. She left about 10 years ago when my father, the previous mayor and founder of New Home, got into a quite large argument regarding the town’s health” Asriel mentions off-handedly, trying not to draw any attention to what he just said

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry! Does that mean they’re divorced?” Frisk asks, attempting to not pry, but they DO want to know  _“His father was the old mayor? And he **founded**  New Home? This is news to me! Speaking of 10 years ago, that was roughly the same time Toriel adopted me from the orphanage…_”

“Oh, no they’re not divorced! They’re just not living together right now. That and they butt heads, so to speak, whenever they meet” Asriel explains, throwing in a little allusion to goat behaviour, even though his mother has no horns

“I see. I was brought up in an orphanage until I was about 11 when my surrogate mother adopted me, so I have no clue about families” Frisk mentions, feeling that they might as well spill their backstory as Asriel did

“Oh, is that so? What happened to your mom and da- I shouldn’t pry, it’s very personal” Asriel stops himself, making sure to respect Frisk’s privacy

“It’s fine Asriel, many people have already asked the same question. I never knew them. I’m basically the cliché baby that was left outside an orphanage while it was raining. All that there was with me was a little note that said ‘please take care of Frisk, and make sure they stay determined’. I may never see them…” Frisk explains, revealing a little more than they wanted to, realizing they probably brought the conversation down a couple notches “I’m sorry, this is a little heavy isn’t it?”

“Oh, no. I’m glad you told this to me Frisk. It sure explains why the “birth mother and father” section wasn’t filled out in your application. I just figured that they were unavailable at the time of signing… But enough of that!” Asriel peps back up, clapping their hands and turning towards Frisk, fire brimming in their eyes “This town is your family now! Treat us all here like you want!”

“F-family? That sounds nice…” Frisk mutters “Thanks Asriel, it’s glad to know the secretary of the Mayor’s so kind” they mention, pulling Asriel into a small, brief hug, causing a blush from Asriel

“O-oh, it’s nothing! I-I’m nothing special…” Asriel admits bashfully, returning the short hug

“Yes you are, Asriel.” Frisk corrects, retracting from the hug and leaving Asriel an arms-length from them “The last town I lived in didn’t accept me OR my surrogate mother. I guess it was because I’m human and she’s a monster…”

“Really? A monster? What kind?” Asriel asks

“That… That’s a story for another day, Asriel. In the meantime, why don’t you show me to your guest room?” Frisk asks, dodging the question on who their mother is, and focusing on the pressing matter at hand

“Your room? Oh, of course! We got so off-track! It’s this way, up the stairs!” Asriel says as they pick up the towels and walk up said stairs

Frisk quickly follows Asriel, glad they didn’t have to endure baring any more of their soul towards Asriel  _“I DO want him to know me, but I feel it’s going a bit too quickly for my tastes. I’d like to start courting him at least a DAY after I met him”_  Frisk admits, though technically Asriel told them a lot about himself as well  _“He seems very friendly with me. Maybe he likes me too? Bad thoughts, bad thoughts! He must be just curt and honest towards his superiors! Guh, honestly, this is why I hate formalities”_ Frisk finishes the inside talk as they follow Asriel into the first room on the right

“Oh, right! I actually put on fresh sheets on this bed about a week or so in case something like this arose! I’m more prepared than I thought!” Asriel comments, puffing out his chest

 _“He just put them on? About a week ago? That sounds fishy…”_  Frisk decides to tease him, attempting to break the ice they created “Is that so, Asriel? From the sounds of it, it sounds like you were _planning_  on having me as your guest!” Frisk exclaims, leaning into Asriel and wiggling an eyebrow

“Wha- Of course not, Ma- I mean Frisk! It all happened coincidentally! Of course, that doesn’t mean I didn’t want you to stay in my house! I mean, you’re welcome here anytime! Wait that came out wrong…” Asriel quickly attempts to clarify, not noticing the chuckling Frisk who’s attempting not to bust a gut from laughter

“Oh my god, you are so naive…” Frisk comments and calms down “I’m kidding Asriel. I appreciate your hospitality.” Frisk says sincerely

“What? You’re kidding? Huh, I should’ve known” Asriel says, frowning slightly at Frisk. “Anyways, the bathrooms at the end of the hall, and my room is opposite yours. Any questions?”

“Yeah: Shampoo and condtioner. Got any?” Frisk asks, as they only brought the bare essentials and really think they need a shower

“Yes I do! It’s in the bathroom. Also I think it’s all-purpose so it’ll work on humans, too! Now that you’re getting settled in, I actually have an invitation for you…” Asriel says, causing Frisk to momentarily stop packing and give him a questioning look

“Invitation? What to?” Frisk asks, having this be the first they’ve heard of it

“It’s actually a celebration party for you at Grillby’s. You know the bar/cafe just north of the Town Hall?”

“Yes? I was thinking of visiting there earlier today but got sidetracked…”

“Oh! So you haven’t met Grillby or Muffet? That’s perfect then! You can meet them tonight during the party!”

“Tonight? Well, I’ll need a shower first… When’s the party?” Frisk asks, worried that they didn’t bring any clothes FOR the party

“I believe it starts at 8. And the time is…” Asriel checks his watch “6:45?!? Oh gosh, I’m late! I’ll see you later Frisk! I’ve got to assure the party preparations are underway!” Asriel says as he hurries downstairs “The extra key’s under the flowerpot in the living room! See you at the party Frisk!” Asriel calls as he puts on his jacket and closes the front door

“Whew” Frisk exhales a breath as they lie back onto the bed, finally having a breather “He _definitely_  isn’t as nervous as I feel. I guess he just doesn’t show it… Heh, his flustered face is so adorable! I just wanna tease him 24/7… Frisk, you’re sounding like a middle schooler with a crush! You gotta be professional, crush or no! Okay, might as well get ready for the party…”


	7. Made by Spiders, For Spiders, OF Spiders!

_7:20, 40 minutes before the party starts_

“Ahh, I feel refreshed!~” Frisk says to themselves as they exit the shower, it being the first time they have had a decent shower in forever. “I still have no clue what to wear to the party… Should I go formal or casual?” They say as they rifle through their belongings, bringing out useful things and placing them on their bedside table. “Oh, right. I brought nothing for clothes but 5 pairs of the same striped shirt and jeans. I swear, my younger self had no fashion sense whatsoever. I guess I thought I was just going to be staying at my house all the time and not going to a PARTY; one for me, too!” Frisk decides to stop thinking about the past and just gets ready

15 minutes later, Frisk heads downstairs and grabs the key under the flowerpot.  _“Huh, buttercups. Cute idea, Asriel,”_  They think as they admire the flowers before exiting the house (and locking the door).

Dusk has settled on the sleepy countryside town, as Frisk travels towards Grillby’s  _“He said north of Town Hall, right?”_ Frisk thinks as they pass by Town Hall, which has temporarily closed for the party. They then spy the armless monster walking in the same direction they are, and decide to call out to them “Hey!”

The monster turns around and greets Frisk “Ah, hello, Frisk! How’re things?” as they wait for Frisk to catch up so they can talk while walking

“I’m fine, kid. And you?” Frisk answers.

“I’m good! What’re you doing at this time of night?” they reply.

“Oh, I’m going to Grillby’s for a sort of welcome party. Are you also going to it?”

“Me? I gotta do another favour for my sister before I’m able to go anywhere” the kid mutters loud enough for Frisk to hear “But I’ll definitely be there later!”

“Alright I’ll see you there!” Frisk exclaims, liking how nicely they’re conversing with the locals “No offence kid, but I still haven’t got your name…” Frisk comments, causing the kid to stop.

“Huh? But don’t you already know my name?” The monster kid exclaims, tilting to the side.

“No? You never introduced yourself when we first met…” Frisk answers, then noticing a huge grin on the monster’s face.

“Hehe! It’s Kidd! Like Captain Kidd, the famous pirate!” Kidd states proudly, acting all high and mighty “I got named after him! Since me and my family love pirates!”

“Heh, is that so Kidd?” Frisk asks, as they can probably guess what his Halloween costume will be this year.

“Yup! Hey, we’re at Grillby’s! I’ll see you later Frisk!” Kidd states as they run off, tripping but catching himself.

 _“Heh, Asriel was right. This whole town is like a huge family. Perks of being small, I guess. Okay Frisk, deep breaths…”_  Frisk thinks as they walk into Grillby’s, bumping into none other than their extremely cute secretary, who falls from surprise “Oh, sorry, Asriel! You alright?” Frisk asks, holding out a hand

“I’m fine, I’m fi- Oh! Mayor Frisk! I didn’t expect you so soon!” Asriel says, straightening himself (and his tie).

“Well, I like to be early.” Frisk says, flashing a small grin.

“Well that’s always good! I’ve got an errand to do, and the party hasn’t really started yet, so why don’t you say ‘Hi’ to Grillby and Muffet? They’re over there.” He says as he points to the bar where there’s a cutely dressed-up spider conversing with… _someone who’s on fire?!?_  Oh it’s a fire-monster.

“Okay, I will! Thanks Asriel.” Frisk says as they see off Asriel, who seems to be in a hurry. As they are walking over to greet the owners, they get stopped by-

“HALT” … that. Someone yells it as Frisk passes by, who immediately stops and turns towards the origin of the voice.

“Is someone there?” A black and white dog appears from behind a bar table, looking around for the origin of the voice, even though it’s perfectly clear Frisk is right in front of him.

“?” Frisk just questioningly looks at the other patrons at the table, which seem to be two dogs who most definitely are in love and a frankly absurdly LARGE dog, clad in battle armor, who is smiling at Frisk.

“You’ll have to not mind Doggo, chum.” The giant dog says to Frisk, wagging his tail while his spear _winks_  at Frisk “He can only see moving objects. And that includes new people.”

“I see…” Frisk says as they move closer to Doggo, waving a hand in front of his face, getting his attention “Hi there, My name’s Frisk, and I’m the new mayor here in New Home.” they say to Doggo, holding out a hand and trying to stay in motion the whole time they’re talking to him

“Ah, there you are! You kept blipping in and out of existence!” Doggo replies, shaking Frisk’s hand “The name’s Doggo, chum! I’m the watcher of New Home! I should probably introduce you to the rest of the gang, shouldn’t I? Dogamy! Dogaressa! Where are you two?”

“We’re right here, Doggo!” the male dog of the couple replies, taking his eyes away from his partner for an agonizing second. “Ah, you’re the new mayor, yes?” They say to Frisk, but don’t put out a hand, as both are currently in the middle of holding his partner “My name’s Dogamy, friend! And this is my lovely wife, Dogaressa!”

“(I can introduce myself, hubby!)” the female one says to Dogamy, chiding him. “(I believe you’re the new mayor, yes? We are the gate guards of New Town. You’ll see us at the gate far north of here.)” Dogaressa explains as they continue to nuzzle Dogamy.

“Yup, I’m Mayor Frisk. But you all can just call me Frisk. It’s nice to meet you all.” Frisk say to all the dogs, then turn to the large one. “And do you have a name?”

“Yup! You can just call me Greater Dog.” The large one answers. “Oh, but I should probably meet you down there, shouldn’t I? Excuse me for a second…” They say as they somehow disappear _inside_  the armor, appearing out of a side compartment, much smaller than before. “Sorry for the wait! Put’er there!” They exclaim as they hold out a hand (well… ‘paw’).

“That’s quite the magic trick, isn’t it?” Frisk comments as they shake the small dog’s paw.

“It ain’t a magic trick, Frisk! It **is**  magic! My armor actually has a mind of it’s own. Say hello, Armor!” Greater Dog says to its armor as it turns towards Frisk and slowly lifts a hand, waving at them. “Well, that’s the best it can do! It can’t speak, being a suit of armor!” Greater Dog **barks**  a laugh (A/N Sans, don’t touch the keyboard!) “Me n’ Lesser Dog run the Police Station stationed here in New Home.” He points to the dog in question, who is playing poker… By himself… He seems to be losing… “Don’t bother talking to him. He never responds to anyone. Also, don’t pet him. You’ll regret it.” Greater Dog warns.

“Why would I- You know what, never mind. I don’t want to know.” Frisk says as they stare at Lesser Dog for a second. “Does he like playing poker?” They ask Greater Dog.

“Yeah, he does. But he’s never good when we play with him.” 

“Why’s that?”

“Every time he gets a good hand he wags his tail.” Greater Dog looks at Frisk sternly. “Anyways, we’ll see you around, alright?” Greater Dog says as he jumps back into his armor, instantly reappearing at the top.

 _“How does he do that…”_ Frisk thinks watching the spectacle. “Yeah I’ll see you guys later!” Frisk calls as they return walking towards the owners, putting their hands on the bar table. “Hello there! My name’s Frisk and I’m the new Mayor here.”

“Ah, hello, darling!” The spider shakes their hand with not 1, not 2, but **6** hands of her own. “My name’s Muffet, dearie! Me and the spiders here run the bakery half of the bar!” Muffet motions to the multitudes of spiders behind her, who are busy creating baked sweets with… _themselves?_  “Would you care for a spider cake, dearie?” Muffet holds up a cupcake, _which is still moving_.

Frisk then spies the slogan she has for her bakery: “Spider bakery!: Made by spiders, for spiders, OF spiders!”  _“Yup. Not touching the stuff. I am not showing my friends with arachnophobia_ _ **this…** ”_Frisk thinks as they look up at Muffet and politely decline “I’m fine, Muffet. I’ve already eaten. And your name is?” Frisk asks the fire elemental, who momentarily stares at Frisk before resuming wiping dishes.

“Oh, his name’s Grillby, and he doesn’t talk much. Unless you’re on REALLY good terms with him. He cooks a mean hamburger, too!” Muffet says as they help a customer, who _actually eats the cupcake_. “We’ll be fine here, so you go and enjoy yourself, Frisk! I believe the party starts in… 10 minutes? I’ll see you around, darling!~” Muffet says as they disappear behind the curtain to talk with some of the spiders.

“Alright. Thanks!” Frisk says as they take a seat and wait for the party to start…


	8. New Guests, The Party, And More...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I start work (and end break) on Tuesday (Jan 12th) so I won’t have much time to write these other than weekends and evenings, so bear with me!  
> Side note: I have a LOT planned for this, so if I don’t update for a while it’s NOT because I ran out of ideas! It’s either because I’m too busy (lol) or am brainstorming how the chapter will go out. Or I caught writer’s block. In any case, I’m going to try my best to not abandon this (like I have with others orz) and continue until my thoughts about it have run dry! Though that being said, if I feel like I don’t WANT to write for it anymore, I will stop. Forced writing is never good writing. I think that’s what fanfics have that stand apart from English lessons (that and marks O.o). Anyways, I’ve talked too much: On with the show!

Frisk is idly chatting with some of the other bar patrons when the bar doors suddenly burst open, led by a scampering Asriel, sweat pouring off his face.

“Sorry for the wait everybody!” Asriel yells as he attempts to catch his breath. “I didn’t want to start the party without… THE BONE BROS!” He exclaims, moving out of the way of the two skeletons, Sans sporting a smirk and Papyrus brandishing a large plate of…. spaghetti?

 _“Papyrus never told me he was a chef…”_ Frisk thinks as the two skeletons enter the bar.

“BEHOLD EVERYONE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE COME TO THE HUMAN’S CELEBRATORY PARTY WITH A PLATE OF MY HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI!” Papyrus exclaims in his usual booming voice, displaying the spaghetti for all to see, while most of the patrons of the bar give each other uncomfortable looks.

“To be honest, Papyrus, I think you came into the bar a little strongly. **Tibia**  little too assertive would be bad, yah?” Sans punfully enters the room winking, enticing groans from the whole bar. “Oh by the way, Papyrus…”

“Yes, what is it Sans?” Papyrus turns to Sans, balancing the giant plate on one of his hands.

“I think I spy some rigatoni in your plate of spaghetti…” Sans says as he points to the middle of the plate, where sure enough there is a piece of tubular pasta infested in the dish. Several, in fact.

“I- E- WHAT? HOW DID THOSE GET IN THERE?!?” Papyrus yells, causing most of the patrons to flinch.

“I don’t know, Papyrus. Maybe it’s an im **pasta**?” Sans winks an eye-socket, which incites another wave of groans (with a couple of chuckles).

“SANS! I WOULD APPRECIATE YOU NOT!” Papyrus yells, looking at the infernal pasta infesting his special dish. “THIS SPAGHETTI IS RUINED! AWAY WITH IT!” Papyrus again yells as they throw the plate like a Frisbee, and the spaghetti miraculously stays on as it whizzes outside the bar and into a conveniently placed garbage can, sitting against a tree. 

“Wow Papyrus, you really **dump** ed your creation quite quickly.” Sans comments, looking at the festering failure of a creation. “I was going to name that plate Celin (sell-in), too…” he mutters disdainfully.

“Why would you name a plate, Sans?” Papyrus asks, puzzled.

“Because now I can call that plate of spaghetti **poor** Celin.”Sans winks yet a third time, this time inciting a couple more chuckles than groans.

“… Okay! Now that Sans’ pun rampage has stopped,” Asriel starts, clapping his hands together to make everyone pay attention to him, “We can finally get this party started!” he states sporting a huge smile.

“Oh, but where is Alphys, Undyne, Mettaton, and Napstablook?” Muffet purrs. “You DO know that the party does not start without _them_!”

“Oh, they couldn’t make tonight. Alphys and Undyne have a concert to go to, and Napstablook and Mettaton are accompanying them!” Asriel answers, flipping through his clipboard, which he always seems to have on his person. “Now! This IS a party to celebrate and welcome Mayor Frisk to our quaint little town,” Everyone’s stares turn to Frisk, who suddenly feels very naked (metaphorically speaking). “But don’t crowd them too much! Enjoy yourselves, get to know your neighbours better, and just have fun! Now, _ARE YOU GUYS READY TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED?!”_  He yells, attempting to get the patrons riled up, but to no avail. Asriel shuffles a tiny bit, coughing into his fist “*coughs* okay then, let’s get this party rolling!” he claps and silently disperses into the crowd, as the party slowly rolls into action.

“HUMAN!” Papyrus yells as they walk over to Frisk, causing them to flinch. “I am so sorry my masterpiece was a disaster!”

“Would you call it a **disaster** peice?” Sans quips in, causing an angry frown from Papyrus.

“SANS! Now is not the time! Human, I do hope you try my spaghetti the next time I make it!” Papyrus pleads, stars in his eye-holes.

“Uhh…” Frisk looks around the bar, to Muffet who is making frantic ‘no, no’ gestures. “Sure, I guess?” Frisk answers, eliciting a slap on the head (with multiple arms) by Muffet.

“THAT’S WONDERFUL!” Papyrus beams. “Now I’ve got to go! I’m going to see what the Guards are doing with those little pieces of paper!” Papyrus concludes as they stride over to the Guard’s table, where they have set up a pseudo-card table. (Lesser Dog is still playing on his own).

“I’m sure he means ‘cards’, kid. I’ll catch you on the flip side, aiight?” Sans says before following Papyrus.

“Oh, you are _screwed_.” Muffet calls to Frisk, motioning them to come closer. “You have NO idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, Frisk…”

“What do you mean? Is his spaghetti that bad? It looked fine to me…” Frisk asks uncertainly, feeling that everyone’s might’ve hurt Papyrus’ feelings.

“Oh sure, it LOOKS fine, but the taste… Well… Skeleton-monsters don’t have taste buds Frisky~” Muffet says as she takes a break and lays her head on two of her many hands.

“And? Is his spaghetti that bad? Who was the last one that tried it?” Frisk asks, suddenly worried about their fate.

“Well, take a look at Lesser Dog.” Muffet says as she motions to Lesser Dog, who has played a pair of 2′s against himself. “He **used**  to be able to talk…” Muffet mentions as they serve another customer, who orders a spider cookie this time.

“… _Oh…_  Thanks for the heads-up, Muffet. Also, Asriel mentioned some people earlier? Like Alfa, or Undies, or something like that? Are they going to be people I’d like to know?” Frisk asks, curiously wondering how they haven’t met everyone yet.

“Oh! You mean Alphys, Undyne, Mettaton and Napstablook?” Muffet replies, putting a hand to her mouth and giggling slightly. “Ahuhuhu~ Well, I’m sure you’ll meet them later, dearie!~ I’ll see you later, right?”

“Yup! Bye, Muffet.” Frisk comments as they leave the bar and head to their spot. They then spy Sans walking up to them, without (A/N: Or should I say **SANS**  *shot*) Papyrus, sporting his usual grin. “Hey there Sans.” Frisk greets, waving a hand.

“Hey there, Frisk. Turns out Papyrus actually does want to learn how to play cards. The guards are teaching him right now…” Sans says as he sits down and observes the guards, who are desperately attempting to teach Papyrus that he has to only show his cards to himself and no-one else.

“Ah, that’s good. I take it you have to babysit Papyrus a lot? Are you the older brother?” Frisk questions, kicking up idle conversation. They’ve always been good at that…

“Yeah, I am. And I don’t exactly babysit him, he just gets a little **bonely**  without me…” He replies as he winks at Frisk, causing another roll of the eyes. “Anyways, have you tried the spider cakes, Frisk?” Sans begins his own question, motioning towards the Spider Bakery, who are forever busy with making new creations.

“Nah, it’s not my taste…” Frisk again politely declines, hoping _never_  to taste those baked good _ever_ …

“Really? They seem pretty **fly**  to me.” Sans punfully executes another pun, actually causing Frisk to chuckle.

* * *

_Asriel, 3rd Person._  (A/N: The only times I will change the focus are at times like these, with the little indication here.)

“Okay, thanks Asriel! I’ll see you later, right?” Kidd says to Asriel, popping off to another part of the party.

“Of, course! See you later!” Asriel replies, waving Kidd off.  _“This is perfect, the party for May- I mean **Frisk**  seems to be going perfectly. Where are they? I haven’t seen them since I bumped into them…” He thinks as he surveys the crowd, spying Frisk idly chatting to Sans. “Ah, there they are. They’re chatting with Sans? What are they talking about? They seems so happy…”_ Asriel thinks this for a second, contemplating his new boss… At least, he’s _supposed_  to think of them as a new boss…  _“What am I getting? Jealous of Sans, getting to talk to Frisk? Hah! Like that’s true! I wonder what they’re talking about though… I want to know Frisk better… Ah! I have an idea!”_  

* * *

_Frisk, 3rd Person._

Frisk continually idly chats to Sans as they spot Asriel making his way towards them almost… _desperately? “Why is he in such a hurry? Aww, he bumped into someone in his hurry, how cute…”_

Sans notices his companion has momentarily stopped conversing, and follows their eyes to… “Ah, right. I have to check on Papyrus.” Sans says as he spies the reason for Frisk’s sudden stop. “I’ll see you later, k’ Frisk? You n’ your… ‘secretary’ have fun, right?” he says as he gets up and heads towards the guards’ table.

“Ok, see you Sans?” Frisk waves off, wondering why he put the pause in.  _“Maybe people are already making assumptions? Like how I’ve already fallen for my cute little secretary?”_ Frisk thinks, already given into the fact that they’re in love.  _“I just hope noone starts rumors. I’d hate to worry him…”_  “Hello, Asriel! Why are you in such a hurry?” Frisk greets, keeping their heart under control this time.

“Perfect timing, Frisk!” Asriel exclaims as he grabs their hand and brings them off the seat they’ve been on. “I actually have a little Q&A prepared for tonight. Do you mind participating in it? It’ll be a perfect opportunity for the villagers to get to know you better!”

“A Q&A? I don’t know, I’ve never really spoken in front of a whole crowd…” Frisk comments as they look at Asriel’s demeanor droop, along with his ears. “Buuuut that doesn’t mean I won’t do it! I’d be delighted, Asriel!” Frisk says as they flash a smile, seeing Asriel’s face light up.  _“God he’s too cute.”_

“That’s great Mayor- I mean, Frisk! Let’s get that set up, shall we?” Asriel says as he pulls Frisk’s hand, urging them to follow.

_“Hmm… Getting pulled along by him again, huh? I sure hope this is a normal occurrence. So soft…”_


	9. Questions Answered, and Answered Questions

“Hello, can I have everyone’s attention?” Asriel’s soft voice plays over the loudspeakers.

This causes everyone to turn their heads to Asriel who is standing on a stage at the back of Grillby’s, next to Grillby and Muffet’s stations.

“First off, I’d like to thank everyone for coming to this little get-together in such short notice…” Asriel begins, having the full attention of the whole crowd, with an awe-struck Frisk behind him.

 _“Wow, he really has a commanding and authoritative aura… Well, once he puts his mind to it at least.”_ Frisk thinks while staring at Asriel’s back, stifling a giggle thinking about Asriel’s little blunder earlier that day.

“But now we come to the main event of the evening. It’s time to get to know your mayor a little better! Ladies and gentlemen, I present: A Q&A on everyone’s favorite new mayor, Frisk!” Asriel presents, moving out of the way for a spotlight to shine on Frisk as they slowly walk to center stage, shielding their eyes from the bright light.

“Wow Asriel, make a little more fanfare, why don’t you?” Frisk sarcastically comments, grinning at Asriel who is beaming happily.

“Thanks! I was quite proud of that!” Asriel comments back, also flashing a grin. “Now,” he begins, addressing the crowd “this is a free-form Q&A, and there was no planning. Frisk will answer questions to the best of their ability, but if they do not want to answer or feel they can’t, please respect their choice in the matter! Now, on with the show!” He ends, handing the microphone over to a nervous Frisk, who honestly doesn’t looks nervous at all.

 _“Thank god this poker face comes in handy at times…”_ Frisk thinks as they grip their jeans, lightly fiddling with the microphone. “Umm, hello everyone! I’m Mayor Frisk, as you all know…” they begin, looking over a sea of familiar faces they’ve already met today. “and…. Umm, I honestly don’t know what to say really… Does anyone have any questions about me?”

“Yeah, I got a question!” Kidd pushes their way through the crowd so Frisk can see them. “Where were ya before moving here?”

“Oh, I was living in this nameless town about a 10 hour drive from here with my surrogate mother. I was living in that town for most of my life, so you could call it my hometown.” Frisk calmly answers.  _“Hey this is easier than I thought!”_

“’Surrogate mother’? What happened to your real mother?” A voice calls from the crowd, enticing a wince from both Frisk and Asriel.

 _“Should have thought someone was going to ask that…”_ Frisk bitterly thinks, having already opened their heart to _one_ villager today. “I was brought up in an orphanage, so I didn’t know my parents. Next question, please.”

“Are you a boy or a girl?”

“ **Next question please.** ” Frisk replies sternly, glaring at the asker, who shrinks back into their seat, terrified.

“What do you plan on doing with the town?” Papyrus pauses from his card game (he has a full house but the dogs aren’t telling him) and asks Frisk, attempting to break the tension the last questions have produced.

“Oh, that?” Frisk asks, their demeanor changing faster than the blink of an eye. “I’m honestly kind of new to the whole ‘mayor’ job, but I’m going to at least start with beautifying up the town. I was very fastidious as a child and seeing New Home in this state is tragic. Other than that I will probably be taking suggestions from villagers on how to improve the town or what to add to it.”

Next question pipes up, spoken by a little child villager, which explains the bluntness: “Why do you have no eyes?”

 _“What? Oh, they must mean…”_ Frisk is surprised by the blunt question but quickly deduces what the villager meant. “Oh, you mean my face? This is just the natural way my face is like. I actually do have eyes under this.” They finish, hoping that is enough.

“Can we see them?”

 _“Guess not…”_  “I’m sorry to dissapoint, but I can’t. I have a very unusual eye color and it usually scares the person I’m talking to when I open them. To me, opening my eyes is a very personal gesture, so you won’t know unless you’re in a close relationship with me.” Frisk explains, wanting to keep their eye color a closely guarded secret.  _“This is going perfect! I just hope they don’t ask anything embaras-”_

A odd looking monster, something like a grey blob with dark sunglasses on, yells from the back of the crowd “WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR SECRETARY?”

 ** _“Fuck.”_** Frisk thinks before almost immediately turning red, sputtering incoherent words as they attempt to mask their red face. “I- well- I think he’s a very good secretary and I’d love to get to know him be- I NEED TO LEAVE, EXCUSE ME.” They yell as they completely shield their face and hand the microphone to a confused Asriel, who attempts to calm down the crowd that wants _answers_. 

“Now, now everyone, calm down! What did I say about Frisk not wanting to answer questions?” Asriel calmly asks the crowd, which begins to settle down. “Now that Frisk has finished answering questions,” Asriel pauses to look at Frisk, who is still trying to get rid of the blush on their cheeks “I feel that they are the perfect person for the job and I think they will do wonders to the town!” He finishes, happily beaming at Frisk.

 _“He really trusts me that much to improve the town? He must have a lot of faith in me…”_ Frisk thinks, wondering what they did to deserve this much praise from Asriel.

“Now, changing the subject,” Asriel starts, again having the crowd’s full attention “I know that I am also quite new to this position, as I’ve only been secretary for 2 years. So does anyone have any questions for me?”

The same grey sunglassed blob yells from the back of the bar “WHAT DO YOU THINK OF FRISK?”

“Oh for crying out- THIS Q&A IS CANCELLED! THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING!” Asriel yells, cuing the lights and microphone to be turned off before his red face becomes apparent.

 _“Wait, he’s flustered too? Does that mean I have a chance?”_ Frisk thinks, figurative stars in their eyes.  _“Hmm, more on this later, he seems to be coming to me…”_

“Well, that was _way_  more awkward than I anticipated…” Asriel mutters to Frisk, scratching the back of his head.

“Aw, I think it went wonderfully, Asriel!” Frisk coos as they nonchalantly reach one of their arms and gently scratches behind Asriel’s ear, causing an immediate reaction.

“Mmmmmng” Asriel mumbles as he slowly shuts his eyes and enjoys the ear-scratch. His leg even begins to shake.

 _“Huh, looks like I found a good spot of his… He’s just like a dog….”_ Frisk thinks idly as they stare at Asriel, who’s face is in pure bliss.  _“Wait, what am I doing!? This is my secretary!”_ Frisk’s (honestly unneeded) voice of reason calls out, forcing them to stop. “S-sorry, Asriel! You were saying?”

“Uhh mm? Why’d you stop, I was enjoying tha-” Asriel drearily mumbles, before realizing exactly what situation he was in. “O-oh, Frisk! I-I-I’m sorry you saw me like that!” Asriel begins to apologize, causing Frisk to chuckle.

“No harm done, Asriel.” Frisk laughs at their secretary, sidling up to him and poking him in the cheek. “At least I found a weak point in my cute little secretary on the first day!”  _“Shit did I say the cute part out loud?”_

“C-cute? Th-thank you…?” Asriel mutters as they both blush and look towards the ground. “Umm, it’s getting kind of late… Do you want to head back and get some sleep?”

“Oh, sure thing Asriel!” Frisk says as they head with Asriel towards the exit (not the fire exit. That’s for Grillby). “Everyone, I thank you all for coming, but Asriel and I need to go to bed because we have a very busy day tomorrow!” Frisk yells to the crowd, waving them off.

“Oh? Sleeping together on the first day? You go Asriel!” A fairly drunk patron yells towards them, causing both to (again) go red immediately.

“Oh, put a sock in it!” Asriel yells as they run from the bar, quickly followed by Frisk. “Sorry about them, Frisk. The villagers can get quite rowdy when a couple of them start drinking.”

The rest of the journey home is quite quiet, apart from a couple of villagers passing by Asriel and Frisk and bidding them goodnight.

Right after they go through the front entrance of Asriel’s home, he poses a question: “You said we had busy day tomorrow? What are we doing?”

“Oh, that?” Frisk asks, looking in Asriel’s expectant eyes. “Well, I said we were going to be beautifying the town, and that’s exactly what we’ll be doing!” Frisk states matter-of-factly as they both mount the stairs.

“I-I see! Well I have some paperwork to do, so I won’t be joining you…” 

“Oh yes you are!” Frisk demands, surprising the little secretary. “New Home is as big a responsibility for you as it is for me! The paperwork can wait ‘till another day, yes?”

“Well, yes, they aren’t due for another week…” Asriel states, looking over to the side.

“Then it’s settled! Don’t worry, Asriel! ‘Many hands make light work’, yah?” Frisk peps, full of vim and vigor, despite also being very tired.

“That’s true. You have a good sleep, Frisk!” Asriel calls as he disappears into his bedroom.

“Yeah, you do too!” Frisk calls, heading to bed themselves.  _“Now, if I could only get to sleep…”_ they think as they disrobe and snuggle under the sheets.  _“Wow, comfy… I need to get to sleep… think of happy thoughts… mmm… fluffy ears… cute little nose…”_


	10. Foundations Complete. What, Already?

“How do you like your eggs, Mayor Frisk?” Asriel asks Frisk from the kitchen as he prepares breakfast for both of them.

“Oh, over easy, thank you.” Frisk responds politely, quietly fidgeting in their seat.

“Great! That’s the only way I know how to do them!” Asriel laughs, taking a couple of eggs out of the fridge and breaking them over the ready-made pan.

“I do thank you for doing this, Asriel.” Frisk states, thanking again, probably for the 5th time in the past half-hour, their secretary for their hospitality.

“Please, it’s the least I could do, Mayor Frisk! I thought that I might as well give you the full package of lodging _and_  a meal, since it’s your first full day on the job!” Asriel idly chats as he makes breakfast. “Would you like something to drink as well?” he asks as he effortlessly flips an egg with the flick of the wrist.

“Oh! I’ll get those, Asriel! Can’t have you do everything, can I?” Frisk exclaims as they get up from their chair and help Asriel, going to the fridge and looking for drinks. “And how many times do I have to say it, Asriel? Just ‘Frisk’ is fine!”

“Haha, sorry Ma- Frisk! I’m still kinda shaken that I have to speak my boss’ name without any honorifics. I’m probably going to be doing it for a long time! Ah, orange juice for me, Frisk.” Asriel chats, keeping watchful eye on the eggs solidifying on the pan

“Ok, got it.” Frisk says as they pour a glass of orange juice for Asriel, and a glass of milk for them.

“Alright, breakfast is served!” Asriel calls as he displaces the eggs onto two plates, as well as some toast that just finished as well.

“Wow, it looks delicious, Asriel!” Frisk states as they take a seat at the breakfast table, smelling the delicious concoction from there.

“Well, I’m sure it’s not as good as a professional chef, but it’s the best I can do!” Asriel laughs as he places both plates on the table. “Enjoy Ma- I mean Frisk.”

“Thanks Azzy-” Frisk nonchalantly thanks Asriel, noticing just after that they called Asriel by… a nickname? “O-oh! I’m sorry, Asriel, I didn’t mean to call you that.”

“Oh, you didn’t? Well, I don’t mind it, Frisk. I get called by nicknames all the time…” Asriel comments, combining a part of his egg and slice of toast and eating both.

“Well, to be honest, it seems more informal than you calling me without honorifics…” Frisk ponders, taking their fork and prodding their eggs, before finally reaching an epiphany. “Ooh! I know! How about you call me by a nickname as well?”

“Re-really?” Asriel stutters, still surprised that their boss is this friendly.

“Yeah, why not? Think of it as a way to deepen the bonds between co-workers.”  _“Even though I’d personally want to deepen our bonds in a much different way, this is a start.”_ Frisk thinks mischievously, trying their best to break down any perceived walls of hierarchy as soon as possible.

“I don’t think that’d be necessary, Frisk.” Asriel stops eating as he aligns his utensils in the proper way, to signal that he’s done.

“Oh, and why not?” Frisk asks.  _“Crud! Will my plan fall flat on the first hurdle?”_

“I… I like your name, Frisk. I feel like there’s no need to add anything to it…” Asriel mumbles, playing with his hands under the table.

“O-Oh…” Frisk exclaims in shock, feeling the most minute amount of blush appear on their cheeks.  _“Well, I guess this works too…”_  

“O-oh, but don’t worry! I’ll still try my best to not add ‘Mayor’ to the start of it!” Asriel pipes up, flashing another one of his sunny smiles.

“’K-’kay…” Frisk mumbles, trying not to look at Asriel’s beaming face as they finish their breakfast.

The rest of breakfast is finished in tense silence, with only the ticking clock breaking the atmosphere of the kitchen.

“Oh!” Asriel starts up as he’s washing the dishes of breakfast. “I have some news concerning your house.”

“Oh, did something come up during it’s construction?” Frisk asks, worried how long they have to stay ‘co-living’ with their crush.

“What? Oh my, no.” Asriel dismisses Frisk’s worries. “The construction’s done.”

“ **WHAT?** ” Frisk yells, causing the poor secretary to cover his ears.

“My apologies, did I stutter? I said the construction on your house is done.” Asriel calmly states, tilting his head to the side, confused about the mayor’s outburst.

“Bu-bu-but…” Frisk stutters as they get their thoughts in line. “ **How**? Construction started yesterday, yes?”

“Yes, that is correct.” Asriel nods in the most businesslike of manners. “And it finished this morning.”

“But how did they have the time?” Frisk asks confoundedly, still not being able to wrap their head around the notion.

“Well, I told you it wasn’t a large house.” Asriel states matter-of-factly, staring right at Frisk for a moment before focusing back on the dishes. “It’s only two floors with twelve foot by twelve foot floors.”

“Okay, so that explains the fast build…” Frisk mutters to themselves, pacing the living room. “But what about electricity? And hydro? I didn’t notice any telegraph poles on the way to this town…”

“Oh, all of our power and hydro is pumped underground from separate stations miles from here. I’m guessing you noticed the small wooden signposts dotted around our town?” Asriel explains, waiting for Frisk to nod their head. “Those are landmarks for the conduits of both the hydro and electricity, so that no villager will accidentally attempt to bury a time capsule there. Goodness knows we don’t need another July Showers Incident…” Asriel trails the last bit off, inhaling a sharp breath through his teeth, creating an audible ‘hissssss’.

“What happened during… You know what? Nevermind, the less I know about that the better. Thank you for this information, Asriel. It is much appreciated.”

“My pleasure Ma- I mean Frisk. Shall we venture and take a look-see at your new home in, heh, New Home?” He chuckles at his own joke, exiting the kitchen and gesturing to the door.

“I’d be delighted.” Frisk replies politely, opening the door and holding it open for Asriel.


	11. NicePants®, Ltd.

“Oh, I forgot to mention, Asriel.” Frisk starts casual conversation as they and Asriel meander towards Frisk’s newly built house.

“Yes, Ma- I mean Frisk?” Asriel asks, sorting the papers he brought with him.

“I couldn’t help noticing the flowers in your living room. You know, the ones in the flowerpot.”

“Ah, you mean my buttercups? They’re quite a nice flower, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, quite underrated by most people, usually thought as a weed or an invasionary species. I’ve noticed that they don’t seem to grow around here. Where did you get them?”

“Oh, them? Well you see, my mother has quite the fascination in flowers and has collected multitudes of different exotic seeds over the years she has lived. Buttercups are one of the many seeds she has.”

“That’s amazing, because my mother is also into collecting flower seeds.”

“Is that so? Well they should meet sometime! I’m sure they’ll have a wonderful conversation. I believe my mother’s coming to visit us on Mother’s Day, perhaps we could arrange something?”

“What a coincidence, so is my mother! This is perfect!” Frisk exclaims, showing off one of their beaming smiles.

“…” Asriel says nothing as he stares at Frisk, open-mouthed.

“Asriel? Something wrong?” Frisk asks, worried about their secretary.

“What? O-oh, nothing’s wrong, Frisk. It’s just…” Asriel pauses, putting his clipboard under his arm and fiddling with his hands.

“You can tell me whatever’s on your mind, Asriel.” Frisk states, stopping Asriel and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Do… Do you mind if I speak out of line?” Asriel asks hesitantly.

“Of course I don’t mind, Asriel! I already told you I hate formalities, right? Well, the preconceived notions of the work hierarchy are definitely included in that. So don’t think of me as a boss, but a coworker, alright?”

“A-alright…”

“You know what? Even better: think of me as a **friend**.” Frisk stares right at Asriel and gives him the warmest smile they’re put on in years.  _“Hopefully with this the cursed hierarchy wall is well and truly broken…”_

“A… friend?” Asriel stutters, with eyes the size of dinner plates.

“Of course! Now, what did you want to tell me?”

“W-well, I just wanted to say…”

“Yes? You can tell me anything.”

“I…” Asriel pauses before taking a massive breath of air “I really like your smile.” He breaths out with a massive amount of blush appearing on his cheeks.

“W-… What?” Frisk asks dumbly.  _“Error, error! An unexpected error has occurred! Would you like to reboot Frisk.exe? WHAT?”_

“Like, I mean your **genuine** smile, Frisk. Not your business smile or the fake, tacked-on smile; your genuinely happy smile. Like the one you had when talking about your mother.”

“O-oh, you’ve been paying attention to my face that much?”

“Yes, I have. When we first met yesterday, you seemed very serious and formal, like you took no BS whatsoever…”

“Ah, yesterday. That was probably because I was overwhelmed by everything happening at once. Sorry about that.”

“And you have all the reason to have behaved like that. But once you accepted your role as Mayor, you seemed much more friendly. In fact, I already have comments from some of the villagers praising your friendliness.”

“Already? But it’s only been a day!”

“Oh, they told me during the party yesterday. But a lot of them thought you were forcing your smile and forcing yourself to enjoy the job, and it’s a relief that that’s not the case.” Asriel sighs, as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders.

“Believe me, Asriel. If I would be forcing myself I would have declined the job on the spot. It is a pleasure to have this job and a pleasure to work with you.” Frisk states, knowing that their smile the have right now is completely genuine.

“And the same could be said to you, Mayor Frisk. Oops, I mean Frisk. I look forward to the work you will do in the future.”

“As will I. Hey, we’re here!” Frisk exclaims as they both walk up to Frisk’s new home.

“Perfect timing. And I believe…” Asriel trails off as he walks over to the mailbox and opens it up, peering inside, “Ah! Found it. The spare key to your house. I believe the other copy is with the realtor’s. Shall we?” Asriel asks as he unlocks the door and opens it for Frisk.

“Oh please, lead the way.” Frisk offers politely, holding the door and allowing Asriel to enter first.

“Thank you Frisk. So as you see,” Asriel starts the tour as they both enter inside the newly built house, as the smell of freshly dried plaster and sawdust assault their senses “The starting house in New Home is fairly basic, with wooden floors and basic white wallpaper; they leave all of the decorating to the resident. Now I trust you already know how to apply wallpaper and flooring?”

“Of course I do, Asriel. My mom gave me the run-down before she sent me here.” Frisk states clearly, rummaging through their pockets and bring out the cabana wallpaper and floor, applying them immediately to the room.

“Ahh, I’ve always loved the cabana set. It gives off quite a homely feeling, yes?” Asriel begins casual conversation as Frisk rummages through their pockets, bringing out each of the cabana furniture and figure out where they should go.

“That it does, Asriel.” Frisk comments as they move around the furniture, before repeatedly going to the front door, looking at the layout, solemnly shaking their head, then immediately moving around the furniture again; rinse and repeat. That is, until they remember why they’re here. “Oh goodness, Asriel! I got completely distracted with interior decorating that I interrupted your tour! I am so sorry!”

“That’s completely fine, Frisk. I would have gotten equally distracted if I were in your shoes. Shall we continue?” Asriel asks as he motions to the stairs, which Frisk follows without a word.

They arrive on the second floor, with the same wallpaper, floor, and layout as the first floor. Except there’s a difference.

“Oh, they already installed the bathroom?” Frisk asks surprised, eyeing the bathroom fixture in the corner.

“Well, we couldn’t let you live here without the means of toiletries, could we?” Asriel asks rhetorically, leading Frisk over to the module and opening the door. “This is your basic type of bathroom, only the bare essentials: sink, toilet and bath with showerhead. Of course, you can change it whenever you feel you need to, as long as you have the proper furniture.”

“Wow, you guys sure aim to impress.” Frisk mentions as they check the under sink drawers, finding that there are cleaning supplies and bathing supplies in there as well. 

“Heh, you can thank our realtors for that! Speaking of which, you have yet to meet them, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have. I didn’t have time to check the shopping district north of the village yesterday.”

“Well, let’s get hurrying! The realtor’s business is not that long of a walk from here.” Asriel calls as he once again grabs Frisk’s hand and leads them downstairs.

 _“I’m never going to get over the softness of his hand, am I? Be still, my beating heart”_ Frisk frets over nothing as they are dragged out of their New Home an-

“HELLO! AND I BELIEVE YOU ARE OUR NEW MAYOR, YES?” a disembodied voice greets Frisk before they can even exit their home.

“Ah, Nice! Burger! Perfect timing, guys. We were just on our way to greet you two.” Asriel talks to the two newcomers, as Frisk gets a view of them.

The one with the peppy voice seems to be a tall, blue bunny-monster, and beside him is… someone who certainly doesn’t look like he wants to be here.

“Greetings Mayor! I am Nice Cream, a pleasure to meet you!” The bunny-monster fast-walks up to Frisk and repeatedly shakes their hand. “And this is my compatriot, Burgerpants!” Nice exclaims, moving over and motioning to the cat-monster attempting to light a cigarette. “Say ‘Hi, nice to meet you!’, Burgerpants!”

“Hey.” Burgerpants momentarily looks up from his cigarette before focusing on it once more.

“Eh, that’ll be the best we can get out of him.” Nice laughs, seemingly used to Burger’s anti-social tendencies. “And we are your realtors!” He turns his attention back to Frisk, whom’s hand he still seems to be shaking.

“A pleasure to meet you two…” Frisk greets once they can get a word in edgewise. “But you can both call me Frisk; everyone else does. Now, I’ve never personally owned a house before, so what do you guys do?”

“Why, we are the ones that manage the expansions and rent of your house, Frisk!” Nice explains quite simply.

“And the rent is how much?” Frisk asks worriedly, as they don’t have much on them at the time.

“Oh, that’s the magical thing, dear Mayor!” Nice pipes up “Because of your job as mayor here, the cost for rent is exactly the same as your paycheck for working at the Town Hall! So as long as you are working, you’re basically rent-free!”

“Wow, that is magical!” Frisk breathes a sigh of relief.

“But that DOES mean that you have to pay off the mortgage from your own pocket.” Nice warns.

“Mortgage?” Frisk asks, bewildered.

“Yes, the initial building of your property.” Nice Cream attempts to mention off-handedly. “But don’t worry! The initial sum of the mortgage is only-”

“18,400 bells.” Burgerpants interrupts, slowly walking up to Frisk and giving them a _menacing_  smile, making Frisk quake in their boots. “And you’ll have to pay it all right now or we’ll be forced t-”

“They most certainly do NOT, Burgerpants!” Nice Cream reprimands, politely pushing Burger out of the way and consoling the terrified Frisk. “Don’t you worry Mayor! Burger just likes to play around. You can pay it off anytime!”

 _“That didn’t **sound** like he was playing around…”_  Frisk thinks as they warily eye Burgerpants, who smirks back. “That’s wonderful, Nice. Your name sure says a lot about your personality!”

“Why thank you, Frisk! I always like to conduct business with a smile!”

“Umm…” A tentative voice tries to get a word in edgeways. Both Frisk and Nice look towards the source, finding Asriel sorting through the paperwork he brought with him. “Well, if you guys don’t need me, I will take my leave. Until next time, Frisk.” Asriel explains quickly before briskly leaving the scene.

“Ah As-” Frisk stretches out a hand, attempting to stop Asriel, who has long since left. Quickly, Frisk whips around and faces Nice Cream and Burgerpants, who flinch at their urgency. “We have no more things to discuss, yes?” Frisk frantically asks, slurring their words together.

“Umm… no?” Nice Cream answers slowly, overlooking Frisk’s frazzled features. “You can pick up your spare key at our store downtown. Otherwise we have nothing else that needs discussi-”

“Great! I’ll pick it up later!” Frisk yells as they sprint off in the direction of Asriel, not noticing that they drop their house key.

Burgerpants slowly walks over to the small, silver key and picks it up, inspecting it before pocketing it. “They’re gonna need this later, right? We’ll just keep it safe at our shop.” He mentions half-assedly, before taking a long drag of his cigarette, stomping it out, and heading back to their post.

“Ah, right. I’ll be right behind you, Burger!” Nice calls to his partner before looking at the dust trail that Frisk made in their hurry. “I suppose there’s no rhyme or reason with the mayor when it comes to their secretary, huh?” Nice says to himself before shaking his head and following his compatriot.

* * *

“Ehuuuhh… Euhhuh… ASRIEL!” Frisk pants as they call to Asriel, who turns around with a look of surprise and concern for his mayor, who seems to be out of breath.

“Ma- Mayor Frisk? Are you alright?” Asriel jogs towards Frisk, who is trying to catch their breath as quickly as possible, ironically making it harder for them to do so.

“Why… Why were you leaving?” Frisk asks hurriedly, clutching onto Asriel’s shoulder for support.

“What do you mean, Frisk? I was not a part of the conversation, and I have some paperwork that requires filing.” Asriel states matter-of-factly, motioning to the paperwork in his hands.

“But we promised we’d be beautifying the town today!” Frisk states, (fake) tears threatening to spill.

Asriel stares at the spectacle for a second before huffing and saying “Frisk, you do know that whenever you need me, I’ll be at the Town Hall, yes?” Asriel smiles, attempting not to laugh.

“The Town Ha-” Frisk begins to argue but stops as you can metaphorically see the cogs in their brain finally click into place. “Oh. Right.” Frisk responds dumbly, falling to their knees and hitting themselves on the head.

“Thought I must admit, I was quite surprised by your urgency, Frisk. any reason for that?”

“R-reason?” Frisk asks, adopting a downcast look and playing with their hands. “Well…”

“You can tell me Frisk. We’re friends, right?” Asriel smiles as he bends down and offers a helping hand up.

 _“ **Friends…** ”_ “Well, it’s our first job together,” Frisk slowly states as they accept Asriel’s hand “and I didn’t want anything to impede it.” Frisk finishes, looking up at Asriel with an adorable, blushing look. “Should I not have?”

Asriel stares at their adorable expression for a split second, eyes wide, before shaking his head and smiling at Frisk. “It’s fine Frisk. Let’s get started beautifying, yes?” Asriel asks rhetorically as he pulls up Frisk, but not before noticing his own fast-beating heart.  _“What am I getting all excited for? It’s just my boss… That expression sure was cute though…”_


	12. Gardening and Greetings

Gathering the necessary tools from Asriel’s house, Asriel and Frisk begin beautifying the town.

“You know…” Frisk begins as they pick out an extremely stubborn weed, stand up and wipe the sweat off of their forehead. “I never realised how many weeds there were around this town until I looked closely. There’s wilting flowers, dead grass patches, even a pile of garbage near the pond! Do the villagers even care about keeping the town pretty?” Frisk complains to Asriel, who is pulling an exceptionally difficult weed himself.

“Nngh… Hah!” Asriel exclaims as he pulls the rest of the weed out. “Well, can you blame them, Mayor Frisk?” Asriel starts before getting a suspect look from Frisk. “Oh! I’m sorry: Frisk. The previous mayor left about a month ago. And, as expected, the responsibilities of maintaining the town left with him. The villagers believed that if a Mayor wasn’t situated in the town, there was no need to maintain it’s image. No one really kept maintaining the town except for Kidd, and he can only do so much…” Asriel takes a break as he looks down at the ground.

“Yeah, being armless does have it’s disadvantages…” Frisk comments, focusing on the weeds before them. “Well this town isn’t going to beautify itself, so we have to do it!” They exclaim, throwing a fist in the air so Asriel can see their enthusiasm.

“Yeah, we do!” Asriel mimics Frisk’s vigour, throwing a fist in the air himself. “I must say, Frisk: I’m glad someone with your need for cleaning up the town got the job. I’d be devastated if some lazy person like Sans got it…”

“Well I did say I was fastidious as a child, Asriel.” Frisk continues the casual conversation as they continue pulling weeds. “I always had my school notes neatly organised in a binder. My room was always clean and there wasn’t a dust bunny or cockroach in it since I moved into it. Heck, I even systematically sort my Skittles into color-coded piles before eating them.”

“Wow, isn’t that bordering on the side of OCD?” Asriel jokes, throwing the weed he pulled into the bag they brought.

“Well, I’d say it’s more my mindset than anything else.” Frisk ponders, not paying attention as they reach for the next weed, but feel something soft. Almost… leather-like? Frisk looks over to the supposed ‘weed’. Surprised, they realise they’ve on accident placed their hand on Asriel’s.

As slow as a snail’s pace, they both look up and their eyes lock. At the same time, they blush, retract their hand and avert their eyes from one another.

“O-Oh yeah!” Frisk starts, calming down their heart and attempting not to look at their crush. “How come you had so much gardening equipment in your house, Asriel? I saw pairs of gloves 4 or 5 times bigger than the ones I have on currently!” Frisk brings their hands up in front of Asriel, approximating how big the other gloves were.

“O-oh, that?” Asriel stutters,still recovering from the earlier incident. “My dad was quite into gardening when he lived here and I inherited his old tools when he moved away.”

“Wait, your dad doesn’t even live in New Home?! What are they doing, leaving their own child to manage a town by themselves?” Frisk complains, feeling that Asriel must feel awfully lonely.

“I’m the same age as you, Frisk. I can take care of myself.” Asriel states, folding his arms together and fixing Frisk with a judgemental stare.

“How did you-” Frisk asks how Asriel knows their name before stopping themselves, “Right. Mayor application form. So you’re 22? No offence, but you certainly don’t look that old.”

“Looks can be deceiving, Mayor. I’ve had some villagers say they think I still go to high school.” Asriel rolls his eyes as he gets back to work. “Oh, and my Dad still lives in New Home: he lives on the Town’s island. I’m planning on visiting him there during Mother’s day with my mother. Care to join us?” He offers, turning to Frisk and wiping more sweat out of his eyes.

“I’d love to Asriel! I’m sure my mother would love to see the island as well. By the way, I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t have a watering can in your supplies. Did your father misplace it?” Frisk asks in a polite manner, hoping not to offend.

“What? Of course he didn’t. He took his watering can with him when he moved. I believe…” Asriel pauses, racking his brain for information. “Ah, yes. Frisk, I believe there is a watering can available at the downtown general goods store. Could you please go there and get it?”

“Ah, sure thing Asriel! Do I need directions on where the general store is?” Frisk asks, getting up and brushing the dirt off of their work pants.

“Oh, it’s the first store on your right when you enter downtown, Frisk. You can’t miss it. Trust me, I most likely will be in the same place when you get back. The watering can shouldn’t put that big of a hole in your pocket.” Asriel mentions as he gets right back to work after seeing Frisk off.

 _“He really is a hard little worker, isn’t he? From his hesitation yesterday you wouldn’t believe the effort he’s making right now. But, adorable as he is, I can’t let him do all the work! Let’s get this watering can and resume beautifying!”_ Frisk thinks as they’re walking towards downtown, passing over the train tracks and entering the district. _“Now the general goods should be… **This** place?”_ Frisk thinks in disdain as they read the sign of the dilapidated shack they wish not to call a store. “… ‘tEm and TEM’s. geNerl gUDs sTor!’ Did the one who wrote this have a bad relationship with capital letters?” Frisk says to themselves as they open the door with caution.

“hOI!” An alien voice surprises Frisk as they enter the store. The voice seems to belong to a dog-like-monster who’s… constantly shaking? And their face isn’t staying in the same place? “an wELcom to… da TEM sHOP!” The monster greets Frisk with almost limitless enthusiasm from their place at the shop.

“Umm… Hello.” Frisk greets the shop owner and surveys the shop’s contents. “Seems fairly normal items for sale… More dog residue… Medicine… Nice Cream bars? Is that a popcicle in the shape of a bicycle? Oh, it’s called a bicicle. That’s cute. Ah, here’s the watering can.” Frisk grabs the item and takes it towards the shaking owner. The owner seems to vibrate with increasing intensity the closer they get to them.

“aH, u wAnT The sPlaSHY BuKKeT? tHAT’lL bE fOIVE-HUnDred BeLLs!” The store owner offers with a glint in their eyes. “wAIt… U mus be… OOH!” The owner’s face (but not the rest of their body somehow) peers closer at Frisk. “u mUSt B da nEW HoomaN dAt moVEd heR!”

“Yes, yes I am…” Frisk replies, holding out a hand which is received in an instant. “My name’s Frisk, and I’m the new mayor…”

“mAYOr!?!” The owner yells, causing Frisk to shield their ears. “UmMm… U cAn hAv tHe sPlaSHY BuKKeT feR fREe!” The owner offers, bullets of sweat dripping down their face.

“No, that won’t be necessary, I have money.” Frisk replies, just wanting to get this ordeal over with. “It’s fine, I can pay.”

“u… u HAv BeLLs? OK u CaN PAy!” The owner says, still shaking Frisk’s hand. “oH! An MoI nAME’S tEmMiE! NoIce tO MEet yOU!”

“Charmed.” Frisk states as they pay for the watering can, or… splashy bucket. “Thank you.” They says as they exit the store.

“Please come again.” Temmie says in almost monotonous tone.

Frisk does a double take and peers back into the store, making sure they heard right. “What did you just say?”

“wHAt? eRR… Oi mEan… PLeASe cOM AgEN!” Temmie yells and shoots Frisk a pleading look, hoping they took the bait.

Suspicious, Frisk gives them a look before leaving the store. _“What an interesting character. I swear they sounded normal for a second there… No dawdling! Time to get back to work. I’m sure Asriel’s waiting for me… Ah, a soda dispenser. I’m sure both of us could do with a cold bottle of water.”_ Frisk thinks as they insert a couple bells into the soda machine and retrieve the cold bottles of water from the dispensary.

* * *

Asriel is working hard as always, and Frisk decides to play a small trick on him. As quiet as possible, they sneak behind Asriel and move the water bottle close to his cheek. The reaction is immediate.

“Hmm, hmm, hmm… MEEH?!” Asriel yells in surprise and turns to see a chortling Frisk doubled over in laughter. “Funny joke, Frisk. Mind I ask you why you did that?”

“Be… Because…” Frisk attempts to start, trying to calm themselves down. “I wanted a reaction out of you, but I didn’t expect you to BLEAT!” Frisk keels over on the floor, dropping the watering can and water bottles on the ground.

“It’s not that funny, Frisk. I’m a goat-monster. Of course I’d bleat.” Asriel replies, feeling embarrassed for being exposed like this.

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry, Asriel.” Frisk apologises, getting the last bit of snickering out of their system. “I brought you the watering can, as well as some water bottles as apologies for taking so long.”

“Ah, perfect! You brought the watering can. So I trust you met Temmie? I mean, you should, as they’re the only worker at that store.” Asriel asks, opening one of the water bottles and taking a long swig.

“Ah, yes. I met… 'Temmie’…” Frisk recalls, thinking of the bizarre owner.

“They’re an interesting one, aren’t they?” Asriel offers, knowing what a character Temmie is.

“Yes, interesting would be one way of describing them. Is their store not doing well? I noticed it was pretty run down.” Frisk asks, wondering how Tem and Tem’s got to that state.

“Oh, they’re doing fine. It’s just that the Bone Bros. pay for everything, whether it be buying or selling, for a better price. Oh, but they do buy garbage, for some reason. And they’re the only place you can buy tools. You know: Bug net, fishing rod, shovel, the like. So they get by.” Asriel pauses and downs almost half the whole water bottle and breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you for this, Frisk. I was planning on getting some water from my house, but you saved me the trouble.” Asriel stares at the water bottle for a couple seconds, contemplating. “You know, as thanks for bringing me this, I’m going to show you a special place after we’re done.”

“A special place? What kind of special place?” Frisk asks, their curiosity piqued.

“Oh, you’ll find out. For now, let’s finish this job!” Asriel yells, and continue they do.


	13. Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I originally planned to have this come 3-4 days after chap 13, but idleness and me getting distracted threw my focus off. Anywho, enjoy!

 

Hours pass by, and Frisk and Asriel still work hard on returning New Home to its former glory. Many villagers pass by on their ways to wherever. Some say hello, but none offer to help. Except for Kidd, who offered to bring them more bottles of water, which they accepted.

“That Kidd’s a good, heh, ‘kid’.” Frisk jokes after Kidd delivers the water and then returns to his home to do more chores.

Asriel pauses to mull over the joke, cracks a smirk and replies “Yes, yes he is. Lord knows how many times he’s heard that one.” while watering a particularly dead patch of grass.

“You know…” Frisk pauses and surveys their surroundings. It’s been 8 hours and they’ve just gotten about half of the town weeded and watered. “This town’s a lot bigger when you get down and remove every weed from it. By this speed it doesn’t seem like we’re going to be finishing until about 4 in the morning.”

“Are you suggesting we leave the rest until tomorrow?” Asriel queries.

“Well, it is good to not overexert yourself, Asriel.” Frisk states as they get up and stretch their weary bones. “And to be honest, I’m quite tired myself. Physical work tires you out, you know. How about we take the rest of the day off and wake up early tomorrow?”

“Never would I have thought the ‘fastidious and hard-working’ Frisk as an early-off boss.” Asriel mutters as he ties up the weed (not that type) bag they’ve been filling since the beginning. With a grunt, he hefts it over his shoulder and turns to Frisk. “How about we drop this bag off at the compost and I show you the special spot?”

“That sounds good, Asriel. I trust the compost is not far away?” Frisk asks, walking up to Asriel to keep up with him.

“Nope, it’s just behind the Bone Bros. establishment. And I believe…” Asriel trails off as they head behind the large store “Just as I suspected.” Asriel deadpans as he spies Sans asleep on top of the boxes he’s meant to be sorting. Sans wakes up just as Frisk is rounding the corner, and waves at the both of them. “Hey Sans. Working hard, or hardly working?” Asriel greets as he sidles by Sans and places the weed clippings in the compost.

“I think we both know the answer to that, Mr. Secretary.” Sans greets back. “Weeds, huh? And here I thought you’d be hanging out with Dogamy and Dogaressa today.”

“What? Why would we be hanging out with them, Sans?” Frisk asks, confused. They spy Asriel next to them making frantic 'no, no’ gestures.

“Well, I heard through the grape vine that you two’d be **guard** ening.” Sans winks as he relaxes on the boxes.

“I tried to warn you…” Asriel winces, despondent.

Frisk looks at Asriel’s defeated expression, but then gets an idea staring at the boxes. “Well, we’d love to chat, but we have somewhere to go, Sans. It was a **crate** time seeing you again!” Frisk yells as they grab Asriel’s arm and lead him away from a dumbfounded Sans.

“Wow, you were serious when you said you were a pun-master as well…” Asriel states. “Are you planning on combating Sans in a pun war while you live here?” Asriel asks as he leads Frisk to the spot, grabbing their hand as if on cue.

“Well, I’m quite versed in the art of puns as well, Asriel. I won’t get beaten by a sack of bones any day.” Frisk huffs, then turns their attention to the hand they’re holding. “Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask…”

“Hmm?” Asriel turns towards Frisk.

“Why do you always grab my hand whenever we’re going somewhere? I’ve always wondered…” Frisk asks, cautious not to offend him.

“O-oh, this?” Asriel asks back, shyly letting go of Frisk’s hand, which gets re-grabbed momentarily after.

“I didn’t say for you to stop… Continue, please.” Frisk mentions, not noticing the curious looks they get from several passersby.

“Well, I think it started when I was a kid…” Asriel begins, looking down.

“Which one, kid as in child goat or kid as in actual kid?” Frisk jokes, swinging the hands clasped in between them.

“Both.” Asriel replies with a look devoid of all amusement. “I believe my mother used to make me hold her hand a lot whenever we went out. I think that was just her being over-protective, but it seems to have rubbed off on me…” Asriel admits, looking down at the two intertwined hands. “Do you dislike it? I can stop if you want…”

“No!” Frisk says almost in desperation, though they did not mean to sound that desperate. “No, it’s fine, Asriel. It’s… oddly comforting, to be honest. Your hand’s quite soft, by the way.”

“Hehe, thanks!” Asriel says as they reach the edge of the town, where an untamed forest bars any hope of traversing any farther. “Now, before I show you this special place, I need to make one thing certain. You are not to tell _an_ yone of this place, are we clear?”

“This is starting to sound more and more suspicious the more you talk about it…” Frisk replies skeptically. “But yes, I promise not to tell a soul of this place once we leave.”

“Please, Mayor Frisk. I have a reason why I keep this place a secret.” Asriel answers the ghost question as he leads Frisk through the foliage.

They go down a path that was near hidden to anyone not looking for it. Soon, the couple of young adults come into a clearing with a shaft of light breaking through the tree cover. The light illuminates a patch of flowers, with one of every kind. Though the most prominent, it seems, are buttercups. 

“This little place, is my secret garden.” Asriel states letting go of Frisk’s hand. He then walks over to a makeshift chest at the edge of the grove. He opens it, and reveals a weathered watering can, which he uses on the flowers in the middle.

“I always wondered how you got those buttercups without any actual flowerpots or gardening tools in town…” Frisk murmurs, seeing some metaphysical puzzle pieces slot together. “Isn’t this place a little special for a relatively new resident of the town to enter?” Frisk asks, feeling this place is too sacred for someone who’s only lived in the town for one-and-a-half days.

“What? Oh, don’t worry about that, Mayor Frisk. I trust you more with these flowers than I do with most of the villagers. Come, sit.” He beckons Frisk over as he places the watering can on the floor and sits in the middle of the grove.

“I don’t know where you got this sense of trust…” Frisk mentions offhandedly and sits cross-legged next to Asriel.

“Hmm. I guess you would call it intuition? You have this certain air around you that just screams ‘trustworthiness’, Frisk. I’m sure the villagers have sensed it as well.” Asriel reassures, placing a paw on Frisk’s hand.

 _“Calmdowncalmdowncalmdown. This is JUST like what happened mere minutes ago, Frisk! Stop getting excited!”_ ”This grove is quite peaceful, isn’t it? The surrounding forest muffles all the sounds from the outside world. All you can hear is the rustling of the trees.” Frisk comments, stopping the wave of emotions from surfacing.

“It does have that air of tranquility, yes? I always escape here whenever I need a break from the town or secretarial duties. Ah! Speaking of which!” Asriel jolts up and turns his attention directly to Frisk. “I have a request for you, Mayor!”

“ **Frisk.** ” Frisk states, glaring daggers at Asriel.

Asriel squirms under their gaze, visibly flinching at Frisk’s distaste for formalities. “Sorry. I have a request for you, Frisk.”

Frisk’s demeanor instantly changes to friendly. “Request away, Asriel.”

“I have yet to file the Mayoral application at Town Hall because I am missing vital information about you…” Asriel starts, pulling his trusty clipboard seemingly out of nowhere and bringing said form out.

“What? Mom didn’t fill in all the information?” Frisk asks, surprised.

“No, your surrogate mother did not. She got most of the information: height; age; hair color; species; preferred type of pie. Same as mine, by the way. The only things missing are…” Asriel pauses and swallows a lump in his throat. “G-gender and eye color…”

“Oh.” Frisk’s face turns stony, grimacing at the form.

“B-But I’m not appropriating anything, Frisk! It’s just this paperwork-”

“I know, it’s official and has to be filed by the government. I’ve had to deal with this mess when I went into highschool as well, Asriel. I understand.” Frisk calms the nervous secretary down, knowing he’s not meaning to offend. “Biologically, I’m female. I’ve tried to look as androgynous as possible my whole life so no-one ever questions it, but there’s always people like those nosy ones at last night’s Q&A.”

“Female, perfect.” Asriel mutters as he jots it down on the form. “And eye color?”

“… Asriel, you remember what I said during the Q&A? How my eye color is strange and I only let close friends see it?” Frisk reminds, not wanting to show Asriel their eyes _this_ early.

“I remember! But this document is official, and I need to know-”

“Trust me, Asriel. I know. Now, since I’ll be showing you my eyes, I need you to try your best not to freak out, okay?” Frisk warns as they place their hands on Asriel’s shoulder and lock sight with him. After a nod from Asriel, Frisk takes a deep breath. “Okay, here goes…”

* * *

_“FREAK!”_

_“*screams*”  
_

_“Run away! They say those eyes with curse you if you look into them!”  
_

_“Don’t play with Frisk, okay? Those eyes are the mark of the devil…”  
_

_“Get out of my sight, demon child!”_

* * *

“Woooow…” As Frisk comes back to reality after many unpleasant memories resurface, they notice Asriel has a starry expression as he’s staring at their eyes. A reaction Frisk is not used to. “Wow?” Frisk asks, puzzled.

“Your eyes are so _red_! That’s so cool!” Asriel gushes. “You’re like an anime protagonist! Or a super-villain!”

“Excuse me?” Frisk asks again, honestly perplexed. They never expected this kind of reaction.

“Why would you be scared to show such cool eyes, Frisk?” Asriel asks back, wondering why Frisk was hiding such a cool secret.

“You don’t know the people I’ve shown these to before…” Frisk replies, bitter memories resurfacing once again.

“Oh…” Asriel replies back out of reaction, then sees the meaning behind the words. “Well don’t worry, Frisk! Just like you will keep the secret of my garden, I will keep the secret of your eyes! No one will hear a peep out of me concerning this subject! You have my word!” Asriel states proudly as he lays a hand on his chest. He then returns to his clipboard and fills in the remaining information. “And with this, you are officially our new mayor! Thought you may have been playing as mayor before, it’s serious time from now on. As stated previously, I look forward to your future endeavors!”

“Only if you’ll be there by my side.” Frisk replies sweetly, resting their hand on Asriel’s thigh, causing him to go beet red. _“He blushes so easily, it’s so cute…”_

“O-oh yeah!” Asriel pipes up, changing the subject. “Since we’re here, I’ll show you my favorite pastime to do whenever it’s a nice day. Come.” He states and grabs Frisk’s arm, laying down on the flowerbed and pulling Frisk with him.

“… What are we doing?” Frisk asks, staring at Asriel.

“Don’t look at me, silly! Look up!” Asriel mock-scolds.

Frisk looks up and notices that the gap in the trees is right above the flowerbed, almost framing the passing clouds in the sky. “Oh, that’s quite a nice view.” Frisk comments as they stifle a yawn.

“Are you tired, Frisk? We did do quite a lot of physical labor today. You can rest if you want. This flowerbed acts as quite a nice cushion so I take naps here regularly.” Asriel offers, smiling at Frisk.

“Do you mind? Are you sure you won’t leave while I’m asleep?” Frisk asks, almost nodding off while laying on the soft ground.

“I’ll be sure to wake you up later.” Asriel reassures, clasping Frisk’s hand in his. “You have my word.”

“Thanks, Asriel. G’night…” Frisk yawns and squeezes his hand and nods off for a bit of shut-eye.


End file.
